Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian port operator Westports is expected to increase its container handling capacity to 13m teu from the current 11m teu following the completion of its Container Terminal 8 (CT8) by the middle of 2017, according to Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, ceo of the company.
“Our focus is always skewed towards a supply-driven approach to meet our customer demand. With CT8, we will be able to handle big vessels while continuously maintain the highest level of productivity,” Gnanalingam said in a speech yesterday.
Westports said earlier that it would invest RM1bn ($269.4m) from 2015 to 2017 for the development of CT8. The budget for the project in 2015 is RM400m ($107.7m).
Westports posted a record net profit rising 17.7% to RM512.2m ($138m) for 2014 from RM435.3m in the previous year. Its container throughput in 2014 also grew to 8.4m teu from 7.5m teu in 2013.
